1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to toothbrushes; and more particularly to a toothbrush which generates a musical selection when toothpaste resident within the handle is delivered to a brush head, the musical selection being long enough that brushing consumes a time period sufficient for proper dental care, and the brush head design enabling toothpaste to remain moist between brushings while the brush head is easily cleaned and remains hygienic after use.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many patents address issues related to integral toothbrushes that have toothpaste provided therein. But these devices have complicated arrangements, including a toothpaste chamber tending to cause toothpaste to dry out. This, in turn, causes toothpaste clog, which is unhygienic and generates a foul odor and taste.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,358,645 to Kiff discloses a dental device. This dental device has a reservoir 10 that is tilted with an air vent 24 open to release a liquid dentifrice to the toothbrush. However, air gets into the reservoir slowly spoiling and drying the contents. This dental device does not deliver toothpaste to the brush.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,562,937 to Moricich discloses a tube collapsing mechanism for dispensers. A loop is present at one end of the tube, which is twisted by rotating a knob to progressively collapse the tube. There is no non-return valve in the flow path of the toothpaste or dentifrice, which can easily spill from the toothbrush bristles.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,766,472 to Durrett discloses a fountain toothbrush. A toothpaste tube is manually screwed into a tooth brush portion and is progressively squeezed as shown in FIG. 1 to direct the toothpaste into the bristles. However, the flow of toothpaste may be stopped by turning the nozzle 34 with respect to the recess 42. This is a manual operation and the user may forget to turn the nozzle with respect to the recess resulting in the spillage of the toothpaste over clothes and other important objects. There is no non-return valve in the flow path of the toothpaste within the toothbrush section. Besides toothpaste is always present within channels 26 and slowly dries out or becomes unhygienic.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,908,924 to Turman discloses a fountain toothbrush. The dentifrice is contained within the toothbrush. The device uses a piston and activating mechanism to drive the dentifrice into the toothpaste bristles. A valve located adjacent to the bristles is provided to stop the flow of the dentifrice when not needed, a manual operation. The valve is not a non-return valve and its closure is not automatic.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,738,761 to Segerstad discloses a reservoir brush for the application of agents to surfaces. The reservoir brush comprises a brush body that includes a shank with a through hole or duct. The enlarged end portion of the shank has external threads engaging with internal threads of a cylindrical receptacle for admission of viscous toothpaste. At its other end the shank is provided with a flat support surface having a first stud extending at right angles. The stud having a hole communicates with the duct of the shank. A second stud extends from one end of the support surface at right angles. A flat surface of the second stud faces the hollow stud. The flat support surface of the shank is adapted to receive a correspondingly shaped detachable brush element. This brush element has a through hole matching the hollow stud extending from the flat support surface. It also has an end surface adapted to engage the flat surface of the second stud. A resilient means is provided to keep the brush element in firm engagement with the support surface. The thread located at 4 has to be advanced to push the plunger 3 into the reservoir to expel the toothpaste through the aperture into a detachable toothbrush. There is no non-return valve in the toothpaste flow path. Consequently, the toothpaste and can spill if the toothbrush is tilted.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,013,370 to Gingras discloses a fountain tooth-brush. This tooth-brush carries its own supply of tooth paste in a removable cartridge inserted into the tooth-brush handle. The toothpaste is discharged through a passage from the cartridge to a flexible nipple located between the tooth-brush bristles. The toothpaste is propelled by a piston and is delivered to the bristles of the toothpaste through a flexible tube that is closed on one end with a slot allowing the toothpaste to escape only when the piston pressure is present and closes off when the piston pressure is off preventing the drying of the toothpaste. The toothpaste delivery tube interferes with the brushing action since it is at the same level as the bristles and the bristles deform during brushing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,635 to Teh-Sheng discloses an automatic tooth-paste-supplying tooth brush. This toothbrush comprises bristles, guide tube means and a source container from which a viscous substance is forced through apertures disposed near the bristles. The flow of the viscous substance to the bristles is manually controlled by means of a knob disposed on the outside surface of a main shaft. An extension end of the container contains the toothbrush bristles, and may be configured as a toothbrush head. An opposite end of the toothbrush head includes a knob, which is disposed for advancing a follower member. The follower member serves to force the viscous substance to the opening of the aperture, permitting the viscous substance to surface to the bristles. At the forward end of the main shaft which contains the follower member, there is disposed a plug which permits closure of the open aperture, thereby avoiding danger of leakage of the viscous substance during non-usage periods. The brush is indicated to have a plurality of passages 3. The plug 4 merely closes one of the exit apertures 2. Toothpaste is dispensed by moving the plunger 9, but if the plug 4 closes the aperture, pressure builds up in the interior of the cavity 8. The amount of pressure depends on the efficiency of the plug. The operation of displacement of the plunger and opening of the plug 4 are not coordinated. Hence, delivery of toothpaste is not automatic, but is accomplished by two independent operations. The automatic toothpaste supplying brush does not use a commercial toothpaste package.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,199,270 to Tomasini discloses a dispenser-container brush for paste material. The dispenser-container brush for paste material comprises: (a) a stem or handle having a flexible wall, an internally hollow reservoir portion, an intermediate zone provided with means for the engagement of a bristle holder head member; and a substantially rigid elongated portion, said elongated portion having a dispensing opening for the paste material; (b) a substantially rigid bristle holder head member, having a bristle arrangement on an outer side or face and comprising an inner cavity of shape and size substantially corresponding to those of said elongated handle portion: a portion for engagement in said means on the intermediate handle portion, and a dispensing hole for the paste material in the face or side provided with said bristles, the position of said dispensing hole being such that the hole can be brought in register with said dispensing opening in the handle. The dispensing hole can be brought in register with the dispensing opening by a rotary movement or by a translational movement. The toothpaste is squeezed out by pressing the handle. The dispensing hole to the toothbrush exit aperture is merely lined up for delivery of toothpaste to the bristles or closed by being out of registry. There is no plunger or non-return valve in this device.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,375,924 to Lemire discloses a paste dispenser tooth-brush. This paste dispenser tooth-brush is convenient and simple to operate and is carried on a person. This paste dispenser tooth-brush comprises an intermediate tubular body, a tooth-brush head secured at one end of the intermediate body, a tooth-paste supply cartridge at the other end of the intermediate body, a cover fitting over the tooth-brush with a tooth-paste axial passage in the intermediate body, the latter forming a piston at one end screwing in the tooth-paste supply cartridge to expel the tooth-paste toward the tooth-brush through the axial passage. An apertured cap at the open end of the cartridge is screwed and unscrewed by the piston to either expel the tooth-paste or to open the cartridge for refill. The toothpaste is delivered by screwing the reservoir inwards which pushes the toothpaste into aperture 2. The passage 2 is blocked by a slidable valve, which is normally in the closed position. Toothpaste is released by pressing button 9. There is a long distance between the valve and exit port of the toothbrush. Consequently, toothpaste in this region will dry and clog the passage. The opening and closing of the valve is not automatic as toothpaste is delivered to the brush.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,744,124 to Wang, et al. discloses a music tooth brush. The music tooth brush comprises a hollow brush hair stock, a touch switch containing the hollow part of said brush hair stock, a brush hair board floatingly mounted on the brush hair stock, and a hollow grip handle bar containing the music IC, batteries and sound-generating plate. When the user brushes his teeth with the tooth brush, the brush hair board can touch and press the touch switch in the brush hair stock to make the circuit in the grip handle bar become electrically conductive, so the sound-generating plate automatically generates the children's favorite music to eliminate their sense of ill feeling against brushing their teeth and further to foster in children a good habit of brushing their teeth after eating. The toothbrush plays music when the switch 2 is turned on and the bristles contact the teeth, completing the electrical circuit. There is no toothpaste contained within the brush and toothpaste is not delivered to the toothbrush bristles.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,086 to Fong discloses a musical toothbrush. This musical toothbrush has an elongate handle having proximal and distal ends. Bristles are formed at the distal end of the elongate handle and a music box is removably attached to the proximal end of the elongate handle. The music box has a housing within which a music generator is disposed such that it may conveniently be actuated by a child prior to brushing the teeth. A retainer disposed within the housing releasably retains the toothbrush upon the handle. The retainer has a tensioner assembly and a plurality of teeth disposed proximate the tensioner assembly such that the proximal end of the toothbrush is positionable intermediate the tensioner assembly and the teeth. The tensioner assembly urges the proximal end of the toothbrush handle toward the teeth such that the tips of the teeth are substantially depressed and therefore frictionally engaged to the proximal end of the toothbrush handle. Thus, the music box is removably attachable to the proximal end of the toothbrush handle such that the toothbrush may be utilized with or without the music box in place. The toothbrush plays music when the button 27 is turned on completing the electrical circuit. There is no toothpaste contained within the brush and toothpaste is not delivered to the toothbrush bristles.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,439,014 to Moussa discloses a toothbrush with toothpaste reservoir. This toothbrush is provided with a hollow interior cavity adapted to contain liquid dentifrice therein. The toothbrush includes a plurality of minute air apertures for equalizing the air pressure within the cavity and at least one dispensing hole in the bristle region of the toothbrush for dispensing the liquid dentifrice to the bristles. A threaded cap is provided at an open end of a handle of the toothbrush to prevent the dentifrice from escaping from the interior cavity. The cap can be removed to allow the refilling of the interior cavity with the liquid dentifrice. This device only delivers liquid dentifrice such as Paridex, Plax, and saline and does not deliver toothpaste. There are no mechanical delivery means or non-return valves within this device.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,755,523 to Seydel discloses a system and method for storing and dispensing toothpaste. This method of storing and applying toothpaste to a toothbrush includes steps of connecting a threaded male end of a tube of toothpaste to a female end of a storage receptacle, forcing toothpaste from the tube of toothpaste into the storage receptacle, disconnecting the tube of toothpaste from the storage receptacle, connecting a male end of a brush member to the female end of the storage receptacle, and forcing toothpaste out of the storage receptacle and into the brush member, whereby the toothbrush is made ready to brush a consumer's teeth. The user merely loads the toothpaste from a tube into the receptacle of the device and then screws the toothbrush in the place of the toothpaste tube and displaces a plunger to direct the toothpaste to the bristles of the toothbrush. This device does not accept a commercially available toothpaste within the device during brushing. There is no non-return valve in the toothpaste flow passage.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,851,882 to Maloney discloses a disposable toothbrush with a reservoir. This disposable toothbrush with reservoir can be used once or at most a handful of times and has a handle with a top surface and a bottom surface and a head attached thereto, the head having bristles thereon. A reservoir having toothpaste therein is disposed within the top surface of the handle and may extend through to the bottom while one or two covers secure the reservoir. The top cover can be removable in order to provide access to the toothpaste within the reservoir or the one or two covers act as bladders for feeding the toothpaste through a duct and an opening to the bristles or along a channel extending between the reservoir and the bristles. The toothbrush has a reservoir within which standard commercial toothpaste is inserted and squeezed. The toothbrush with the toothpaste tube within the container is discarded after use. There are no plungers or non-return valves provided in this device.
There remains a need in the art for an integrated toothbrush that carries a commercial toothpaste tube there within and delivers a user selected amount of toothpaste to the bristles of the toothbrush without further spillage. Also needed is toothbrush which generates a musical selection when toothpaste resident within the handle is delivered to a brush head. Further needed is a toothbrush wherein the brush head design enabling toothpaste to remain moist between brushings, and wherein the brush head is easily cleaned after use to restore its hygienic, odor-free state.